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San Diego Deep Sea Questions

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So our little guy is becoming a man... actually he's 13 already and turning 14 in March. But, he has started to pre-emptively strike for his birthday request. He wants to go deep sea fishing in San Diego for his birthday.

 

It's one heck of an expensive gift,... but honestly, it's on my bucket list too. ha ha. And coupled with the fact that its not something that takes a battery or a screen, or that he will have to leave his "teen-cave" and interact with us and strangers is something quite remarkable.

 

I looked it up once before, but that was years ago. Does any one have any recommendations? Or leads? So the only other hang up is. There's four of us. the boy, and myself will want to fish. I am pretty sure that his younger sister, and my lady wont. Any places that have fisher + observer.

 

Is "thinking sauce" (beer) allowed on these boats. Not for the kid, but for mom to sit through half a day of watching us fish it might be necessary ha ha, but not a requirement

 

thanks for any ideas.

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Look up Point Loma Sportfishing. The fishing this summer has been amazing from what I've seen. He may have to wait for his present until June. The fish are still pretty far south in March.

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Check with Paul Fischer from Outer Limits to see what openings they have left this year (Outerlimitscharters@Gmail.com)! Good luck!

 

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Slow pick for bottom fish in shallow water that time of year last time I went. Still had a good time but you should wait until July or August when the water and the fishing really heats up. Good Luck! I also prefer Point Loma Sportfishing. Seaforth also has some great boats and captains for open parties.

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I recommend Seaforth, but would choose 3/4 day over the half day boats. At 14 years of age, 3/4 day boat will be fine. Try to get your wife & daughter to go also. Most of the deck hands go out of their way to help women enjoy the experience. My wife and daughter both are "hooked" and insist I take them. Beer is available.

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Fishing in March can be spotty, but you will still have a lot of fun and could luck into some Yellowtail. The Outer Limits is a great boat, but I'm not sure it runs day charters, mostly overnight and longer, but I could be wrong as I only fish there out of SD from July-September. I like to fish with Seaforth and highly recommend the boat "San Diego" on a 3/4 day. It usually runs $145 a head. It's not uncommon to see ladies on the boat, but it will be a long day for them if they won't fish and aside from seeing dolphins probably not much fun. None of the 1/2 and 3/4 day open party charter boats are built for comfort. You could look up a "6 pack charter" if cash is no problem, that would be more fun for the whole family but it does cost more.

 

http://www.seaforthlanding.com/pages/fishcount.php you can also find historic counts for March here as well:

 

http://www.sportfishingreport.com/pages/boatdetail.php?month=3&year=2017&boat_id=248

http://www.sportfishingreport.com/pages/boatdetail.php?month=3&year=2016&boat_id=248

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1) choose seaforth if only for the easy, free parking. very important point.

 

2) do not book a trip in march or april until you show up in the morning. talk to the landing the evening before and they will let you know if there is a yellowtail or bluefin hunt going on. avoid anything listed as exploratory. if there are no pelagics grab a local 3/4 day and listen to the deckhands-the odd yellowtail or white seabass or black seabass will surprise everyone onboard except the crew! listen up.

 

3) an offshore 3/4 day trip is 12-13 hours almost all travelling time, local 3/4 day trips are 8-9 hours with most of your time spent fishing.

 

4) it is not OK to puke in the head-take it over the rail.

 

have fun,

lee

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4) it is not OK to puke in the head-take it over the rail.

 

have fun,

lee

 

Go see your Doc and get the patch. They don't sell the pill form anymore, which was faster acting.

 

Seaforth is great. They will also rent you rod and reels, mates will clean and bag your fish. If you decide to take a trip into Mexican waters bring a passport.

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Not knowing any better, I took my boy, at the time he was 14 too, on a "lug a buddy" trip for two days for Albacore. Lug a buddy means two people go for the price of one. Sounds enticing but they only do that trip when the moon is full and guess what happened, the fishing sucked.

 

We had a good time but I'd rather pay regular price for a trip with better bites going on.

 

I think I was into it about $1200 for 40 pounds of fish and a free boat ride :unsure:

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Sorry Im fairly new to this site and was just cruising around and saw this. I live in San Diego county and work with guys that fish in a regular basis yes the fishing is good but also the amount of fishing pressure has been huge as well. For every boat that has been catching there has been a dozen that are coming up with nothing. I would love to see a gamble pay off but I would also hate to see your son come up empty handed. Also a lot of the big blue fin being caught are by guys that have tailored gear and the right jigs and such, big money stuff. Although there are still blue fin on the bite that will take bait its not the wide open bite that they want you to think. For that time of year I would look into going White Sea bass fishing up around Catalina island and get a couple more people and get a 6 pack charter. They try to load up on live squid then slip into the back side of the island and get some big 60lb White Sea bass.

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